Search for new medical officer of health is on

Dr. Christine Kennedy is no longer the medical officer of health in Grey-Bruce.

The board of directors of the Grey Bruce Health Unit ìhas determined that new leadership direction is warranted, and as a result, Dr. Christine Kennedy is no longer with the organization,î the health unit said in a news release Friday.

A search for a new medical officer of health will begin immediately.

Efforts to contact Kennedy for comment Friday were not successful. Board chair David Inglis said in an interview he didnít know how to reach her and that he had heard she wasnít around.

Kennedy has been on a personal leave since around mid-August.

Dr. Hazel Lynn, whom Kennedy succeeded, returned to the health unit as acting medical officer of health on Sept. 22, on a contract for a term of less than six months. Others stood in between when Kennedy left and Lynn returned.

Health units are required to have a medical officer of health or acting medical officer of health at all times.

Asked if the board initiated Kennedyís departure, Inglis said ìThis was a mutually agreed upon departure.î He confirmed she was not fired.

When asked how well Kennedy was doing her job, Inglis said ìI canít answer that question.î

The process that led to her leaving began about a week ago and ìit all came together today or yesterday,î Inglis said.

Though the subject of Kennedy was discussed at the board meeting Friday, there was no board vote at that meeting concerning her departure, he said. She was not at the meeting.

Kennedy was hired in August 2014 as acting associate medical officer of health, then was appointed part-time permanent associate medical officer of health a few months later.

Her appointment to succeed Lynn as the medical officer of health was announced on May 27, 2016, at a regular board meeting, effective July 1, 2016.

Inglis said he was not sure if the board would hire a consultant to do interviews and background checking to replace Kennedy, as was done to help hire her. The board will address that at the next meeting, he said.

The duties of the medical officer of health for Grey-Bruce had been performed by Dr. Miriam Klassen, medical officer of health for Perth County, since mid August, after Kennedy went on a personal leave.

The board briefly appointed Dr. Ian Arra as acting medical officer of health, on Sept. 12, though heíd been a health unit consultant since July 22. He remains a consultant with the health unit.

Lynn, who was medical officer of health when Kennedy was made associate medical officer of health, said at the time that she had succession planning in mind by filling that position.

The Sun Times reported Oct. 8, 2014 that the health unit had advertised and interviewed candidates to fill a new position of associate medical officer of health for more than a year before hiring Kennedy.

Lynn told the paper at the time that it wasnít unusual to take a year or two to fill top jobs at health units. ìItís better to wait and find one that you really think is going to be good,î she said.

Kennedy is a mother of three children who grew up and worked in Newfoundland. Kennedy spent time working in Alberta and eastern Ontario before making the move to Grey-Bruce.

Kennedy said in an interview in May 2016 when her appointment to succeed Lynn was announced that she was looking forward to making a difference at the ground level, after years spent in the halls of academia. She spent five extra years after medical school studying public health and preventive medicine and became a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada in that specialty.

Information distributed by the health unit after her appointment was made public said Kennedy has extensive experience in public health as a researcher, teacher, senior public health economist and consultant, medical officer of health and as a regional community medicine specialist for First Nations and Inuit health branch of Health Canada in Alberta and Ontario regions.